Burundi: Fraud, the main reason for the suspension of the activities of mining companies, according to President Pierre Nkurunziza.

THE BIG PICTURE:Recently, The Burundi national Council took the decision to suspend all mining companies along with the foreign NGOs due to the rule violations which were governing them, according to the statement read out by the Burundi national Security Council.

For clarifications on the reasons of suspending mining companies, the Burundi Head of State, Pierre Nkurunziza, when in Muyinga Province, spoke about the main motivations that drove the Burundi National Security Council (CNS) on September 26, to suspend them throughout the month of October 2018,all mining activities by cooperatives or other associations operating in the area of mining sector.

Fraud, the reason behind suspension of the Mining companies.

According to Pierre Nkurunziza, quoted by the Burundi Press Agency, the first reason is fraud. Miners were selling fraudulently minerals abroad, mainly to Rwanda, and this caused a big shortfall for Burundi economy. He gave the example of the farmers of Kabarore commune, Kayanza province (north of Burundi), which, in 2016 only, reported a production of 400kg / month. The government had to get up
to fight against this practice.

The ABP report goes on that in 2017, the same farmers reported 25,000kg of minerals per month! “How
can you justify that? Asked the head of state. “After the call to order in 2016, the mining sector has bailed out the state income but unfortunately not for long, “he regretted.

“At a recent meeting of the National Security Council, we once again realized that the mineral fraud had once again settled from February 2018 and that the revenues in foreign exchange earnings from this sector had fallen dramatically, while ‘millions and millions of foreign currencies are pocketed by farmers without paying a single penny to the public treasury “,Pierre Nkurunziza said.

The mining sector had been enriching foreign countries.

Nkurunziza explained that the mining companies have taken a wrong course by enriching the foreign countries. “It hurts a lot, how the wealth from Burundi, will develop foreign countries while Burundians are dying of hunger and these countries will report here and there that they sold tons of minerals when in reality they do not have them in their basement? “.

Workers in Mining companies not registered in Insurance companies.

The second reason given to justify this suspension is the notorious negligence observed in The Managers of mining companies. Workers are not insured in the insurance company or the National Institute of Social Security (INSS).

“This is unthinkable only 10 or 15 persons perish in the trenches as a result of landslides and that their cases are classified without the follow-up, without the victims’ rights-holders receiving any compensation”, said the head of the State.

He gave the leaders of the mining cooperatives one month to make sure their shortcomings are corrected. “Do not get an exaggerated taste for money and forget about your peers,” he said.

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